Absence
by Chibi Petals
Summary: Every year on her birthday, he would tell her the story of their adventures together, adventures from a life that seems more like a dream to her. It's been so long, but as she approaches what she thinks is her twenty-first birthday, a frightful beast from her nightmares appears before Annabelle, the newly dubbed Amalthea, and the struggle to find the other unicorns begins again.


Absence

 **Chapter 01: Losing Her**

 _The waves lapped at the side of the old stone castle, her dark blue eyes staring deeply at the water, as if searching for something among the white sea foam of the ocean's surface. A cold wind blew through the air, but it did not faze her. With her long snow colored hair, pale skin, and bright sea colored eyes, she was a remarkable sight. But even more so was when anyone squinted at her, tilting their head at just the right angle, one could swear they saw a unicorn staring out to sea and not the beautiful forlorn lady._

 _She knew not why she and her companions had come to this dark foreboding castle – the Castle belonging to an elderly king, a greedy monarch, whose greed led him to make a pact with a strange creature, who haunts the lady's nightmares. A creature so evil. Born of flames and with the horns of an ox—the Red Bull the creature was called. It is said that King Haggard begged the Creature to round up all the Unicorns and—_

"Hold up-!"

He stopped in the middle of his story, his own mind returning to reality. His grey eyes stared at the young woman sitting on the couch before him. Long pale blonde hair that trailed down a slender, petite frame with pale cream-colored skin, big blue-violet eyes staring back at him, and a faded pink star shaped mark on her forehead covered by her bangs. She wore a pale purple tank top with a pair of denim blue jean shorts over a pair of black tights and a pair of lavender colored flip-flops. The woman looked to be no older than eighteen, maybe even twenty-one. It made his heart flutter a bit to see this young one woman sitting there so tentatively. It almost made him want to call out a name he thought long gone from his memories.

"Yes?" the man said to the woman, right eyebrow raised.

She shifted uncomfortably on the couch, her hand immediately going to her forehead where the star mark was. "Are you telling me a fairytale? One for little kids no less?"

He couldn't stop the smile forming on his lips. If only she knew. He should his head. "Of course not. This is not a fairytale. It is a true story. True as a rabbit that writes fairytales." He said the last part quietly. It pained him to say this to her. He was telling her the story of his adventures with her – _their_ adventures together. How could she have forgotten the time they have spent together, searching for the source of her fears, the reason she started her search for others like her.

"Ah, then continue," the woman said just as quietly. She was so soft-spoken and serious. Just as she should be. His smile broke through the calm, serious mask that he wore as his facial expression. He coughed into his hand and cleared his throat before continuing.

"Now where was I? Oh yes..."

 _It is said that King Haggard begged the Red Bull to round up all the Unicorns of the world and push them into—_

"Don't you mean herd them?"

Again her soft tone broke through his reverie, bringing him back to reality once more. He looked at her again. There was something annoying about her constant interruptions. He hated being interrupted. "Mean what?"

"Herd them. – _And herd them into the sea._ " The lady reminded him.

He brought a hand to his lips and chuckled into his palm. How neat and correct she had to be.

She frowned at seeing him chuckle. "What's so funny? Uncle Rick?" She just blinked, not understanding why her guardian was laughing. Did she do something strange?

The brown haired man regained his composure once more and shook his head, waving her concerns off with the brush of hand. "Nothing, Annabelle. It's nothing." He started. The sleeves of his dark blue baggy coat fell over his hands, covering them. It was so large that it almost made him look like a magician of sorts.

Annabelle puffed out her cheeks in a huffy manner. "Really? Then why are you laughing at me?"

"I am not laughing at you. I am laughing _with_ you, my lovely niece." Her uncle replied good-naturedly. "There is a difference."

She just shook her head. Annabelle, or Anna, as she liked to be called, looked over to the nearby window at hearing a honking noise. Her face lit up. It was her turn to smile as she saw a dark haired girl in a blue convertible waving furiously at her. She smiled and waved back before rising off the couch.

"Missy is here already?" Rick asked inquisitively, glancing at his wristwatch before looking to the young woman fetching her coat from a nearby closet. "She is a bit early. Wait, Anna, where are you going?"

Anna stopped in mid-motion with her hand barely grasping her white leather coat from the inside of the closet by the front door. Her violet eyes went to the short man that had raised her for the past twenty-one years. Her uncle Rick appeared to be scrawny and short, and he was often clumsy, tripping over his own feet. His large nose made him look all the more comical. But now he seemed… sad.

"I'm just going to the beach with Missy and our friends for the weekend. Remember? She invited me to celebrate my birthday there this weekend." Anna bit her lip. Her gaze flickered to the front door. She knew her uncle would be disappointed about her not celebrating her twenty-first birthday with him and her aunt like she did every year. Of course, her twenty-first birthday seemed to be a big deal to them this year. Even more so than her sixteenth birthday had been.

"But what about the story? I haven't even finished telling it to you." Rick's tone was full of the dreaded disappointment. She would normally fall prey to his disappointed tone, but this year was going to be different.

He heard her sigh and she finally turned around to face him a moment later. There was something strangely beautiful and mysterious about the young woman standing before him now. Her body stock still, only to quiver as she breathed in silence. Her eyes seemed to fill with that normal sorrow he was used to seeing. Under it was determination.

"Listen, Uncle Rick, I know the story by heart. You've only been telling it to me since I was a little girl, but," She clenched her hands against her sides, her coat only halfway on her shoulders, "I'm not child anymore. I'm an adult and I want to celebrate with my friends this year."

With that said, the young adult walked out of the door and into the cloudy summer day.

He let out a sigh of his own, his shoulders drooping in disappointment. A lanky woman with mouse colored hair and warm brow eyes came in with a tray of tea. He shook his head as the woman looked between him and the door.

"I'm afraid I'm losing her, Molly." He said as his female companion set the tea tray down to close the door and walked to his side.

Molly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, laying her head atop his. "No, you're not Shmendrick. You just have to give her more time to remember everything." The woman replied softly.

Schmendrick heaved a sigh, placing a hand over hers. "I hope you are right, Molly."


End file.
